


Past Time

by Mattecat



Category: The LEGO Ninjago Movie (2017)
Genre: Character Turned Into a Ghost, Gen, Ghosts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24147469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mattecat/pseuds/Mattecat
Summary: After a ninja mission goes wrong, Garmadon tries to bring Cole back from the dead, but only succeeds in bringing back his ghost. Of course his friends are going to try and resurrect him, but why does Wu seem so opposed to the idea? And who was his first student, anyway?
Comments: 15
Kudos: 76





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this fic will be updating every two weeks on Monday (this first update is a day late lol), so chapter two is going up May 25th. I'm only expecting 10 or so chapters at about this same length as this one; it's a fairly short fic. (I'm trying to justify starting 2 new chaptered fics in a row… in my defense, the first one is completed & will be updating weekly, and this one is well on its way.)
> 
> ~have fun~

"Is everyone okay?!"

"Where's Cole?!"

"I don't see Zane!"

"All of your parents are going to _kill_ me –"

Lloyd took a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart. The mudslide had come without warning – though Wu had told them it was dangerous, with all the melting snow on the mountaintop, which was why he had insisted on sending Garmadon with them. They were supposed to investigate the strange weather patterns, but they hadn't found anything, and now Lloyd was freezing cold, covered in mud, and he could only see two of his friends in the trees that hadn't been knocked down.

"Luhloyd! Are you alright?!"

Lloyd looked up at his dad, who was hanging from a tree with his upper two arms and holding Lloyd with the lower set. "Yeah," he said, "I'm fine. Do you see – do you see –"

"The Fire and Water Ninjas are over there," Garmadon said. "I don't see Lightning Ninja, but I heard him, so he's probably fine."

Lloyd twisted around and spotted Jay a few trees away. "Cole and Zane –"

"Ice Ninja is a –" Garmadon caught himself before calling Zane a robot. "– not a biological human, so he's probably fine. Y'know, if he's waterproof."

" _Cole_ –"

"We gotta look for him!" Kai shouted, and Lloyd looked over just in time to see him jump into the mud with enough force to submerge him. Nya and Jay screamed in unison.

"Dad –"

"Okay, kids, don't be stupid!" Garmadon placed Lloyd on a branch and scuttled down the tree. "Kai, get out of there."

Kai clawed his way to the surface with a gasp. "It's freezing!"

"It's melted snow, of course it's freezing! Get out of there before you catch hypothermia and die!"

"What about Cole?!" Jay yelled. "We need to find him and Zane! We need to find them now!"

Lloyd shivered and jumped down to a rock sticking out. It shifted with his weight, settling deeper into the mud – had the mudslide been powerful enough to move _boulders?_ "It might've, um, pushed them down the hill! We need to start looking!"

Fifteen minute went by and they didn't find Cole or Zane. Lloyd and Kai shivered uncontrollably, crouching on a tree trunk together and using a long branch to try and feel any bodies mired in the mud. Garmadon put a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "Luhloyd, you need to go home."

"No!" Lloyd yelled. "We need to find them!"

"Jay and I'll keep looking," Nya called from her position. "Kai, you two need to get somewhere warm."

"I'm the – the – the Fire Ninja!" Kai grit his teeth. He sounded like he was going to cry. "I can't freeze! I'm fine!"

Garmadon shook his head. "You are absolutely _not_ fine! You might be a ninja, but you're still human."

"Five more minutes," Lloyd said. "Please, Dad."

"I see something!" Jay shouted. They all looked up and in the direction he pointed. Under the mud, something was shifting, and Lloyd felt a spark of hope when a hand reached out and grabbed a branch.

"It's Zane!" Nya jumped from solid spot to solid spot among the debris until she was at the hand. "Zane, I got you, buddy –"

She grabbed his hand and managed to get his head above the mud. Zane was completely caked in it, and as he pulled himself out the rest of the way, Lloyd saw he was dragging something behind him. The muddy shape was unrecognizable at first – Lloyd felt his heart jump into his throat when he realized who it was.

"Oh no," Jay whimpered.

"Alright," Garmadon said. "Nobody panic. We need to get to solid ground _now._ Ice Ninja, what's your status?"

"I might need to be put in rice," Zane said, his voice distorted.

"We'll handle that back home. Let's go!"

* * *

Zane didn't let go of Cole until they reached a part of the forest untouched by the mudslide. Kai melted the snow on the ground and they lay down Cole and gathered around him. Garmadon bent over, hesitated, and put a hand on Cole's neck to check his pulse.

"Dad," said Lloyd.

"Everyone, don't panic –"

"Dad," Lloyd said again, raising his voice. "You told me once, that back when you had an undead army, you knew when people were still alive, or – or when they couldn't be saved."

"But he's fine, right?" Jay said, his voice shaking. "Cole's fine, right?!"

Lloyd swallowed. "Don't lie to us, Dad."

"Yeah," said Garmadon. "Um. I have some bad news."

Lloyd's stomach dropped. He stared down at Cole's body and thought – I change my mind, Dad. You can lie to us, Dad. Please be lying to us right now.

"No," Kai croaked. "No, no, no, no –"

"We have to try!" Jay shouted, and he shoved Garmadon out of the way to lean over Cole's body. "I'm the Lightning Ninja, right?! C'mon, bro, c'mon –"

He pressed his hands to Cole's chest and shocked him. The body twitched, but nothing else happened. Jay did it again, and again, and again – Kai was definitely crying, Lloyd saw, his arms wrapped around himself as he shivered and sobbed. Lloyd didn't know he was crying too until he felt himself sob, covering his mouth as tears fell down his cheeks. He looked up at his dad, desperate for comfort.

Garmadon's expression had changed. He looked at Jay, then back to Cole, his brow furrowed. "Hang on," he said. "Now, don't get your hopes up, but there might be something I can do."

"You just said he was _dead!_ " Nya screamed.

"Well, he is, yeah – but you don't get an undead army without knowing some necromancy!"

"Not helping, Dad!" Lloyd said loudly. "I don't want you turning my friend into a zombie!"

"I'm not going to turn him into a zombie, where'd you – okay, I know where you got that idea, actually. But no. He only just died! I can bring him back to life!"

Jay stopped shocking Cole's body and looked up. "Can you really?"

Garmadon took a deep breath. "Like I said, don't get your hopes up. It might not work."

"Do it!" Kai shouted. "You gotta try!"

Something didn't feel right. Lloyd looked up at his dad, at his nervous expression, his posture held without any of the confidence Lloyd was used to seeing. "Are you sure, Dad?" he said.

"No," said Garmadon. "The chances of this working are very slim. The chances of this working the way you want it to are even slimmer. Are you kids absolutely sure you want me to do this?"

"Yes!" Nya, Kai, and Jay yelled in unison.

"Please," Zane added.

Garmadon looked to Lloyd. Without exchanging words, Lloyd realized that the decision fell to him. If he told his dad no, don't do it…

"Do it," he said. "I can't…" Lloyd sniffed, shivered, and wiped his nose. "I can't lose one of my friends."

"Okay," Garmadon said. "Okay. Kids, stand back. Don't want any of your souls getting caught up in dark magic."

Lloyd thought about Cole's soul – but right now, anything was better than Cole being dead. It wasn't like fates worse than death actually existed, right?

Garmadon stood over Cole's body and clasped all four of his hands together. Softly, he whispered in a language that made Lloyd's hair stand on end – not a human language, because Lloyd was pretty sure most humans couldn't make those noises, hissing voices layered on top of each other. For a long few moments, it was just Garmadon whispering and the ninja afraid to say a word in case something went wrong.

Then Cole's body started to glow.

Lloyd couldn't suppress a gasp. Kai grabbed Nya's hand. Jay and Zane stared with wide eyes. All five of them watched as Cole's body was surrounded in a gentle green light.

Garmadon stopped chanting and said, "Oh boy, _that_ color's not good."

"What?!" Jay yelped.

Cole's body continued glowing. Garmadon frowned. "Yeah," he said, "green's not a good color for souls. I, uh, might've messed something up."

"You messed something up," Lloyd repeated. Nya clapped a hand to her mouth.

"What do we do?" Zane asked. "Will he be all right?"

Garmadon sucked in air through his teeth. "Well, eventually? Yes, 'cause I'm gonna fix this. Now, we're gonna need to take the body, and –"

He reached for Cole's body and a transparent green hand shot out and grabbed his arm.

Garmadon shrieked and yanked his arm away. A figure was pulled out of Cole's body and sent flying through the forest, phasing through a tree as the ninja watched in horror. There was a soft _thud,_ and what was unmistakably Cole's voice yelling, "Ow!"

"Cole?!" Kai cried. He scrambled to his feet and ran down the slope. After a glance at where Cole's body still lay, Nya followed. Zane tried to stand, but his joints creaked, and Jay had to grab him before he fell over. Lloyd stood up to follow Kai and Nya, but Garmadon grabbed his shoulder.

"Careful, Luhloyd," his father said. "I don't know what to expect from… whoever came back."

"Whoever?" Lloyd echoed. "It might not be Cole?"

"I mean, it's probably Cole, but…" Garmadon grimaced. "It's best to exercise caution around cursed ghosts."

Lloyd pulled away from his grip and stumbled down to where Kai and Nya stood.

Cole sat in the snow staring at his hands. His entire body, ninja uniform included, was partially transparent and tinted green. Lloyd stopped a few feet behind Kai and Nya, shivering. He heard Jay and Zane approaching behind him.

"Cole?" Kai said, his voice pitched high in worry. "Cole, buddy, are you okay?"

Cole looked up, his eyes wide. "What happened to me?" he said. "I couldn't breathe, and then…"

Neither Kai or Nya had an answer for him. Lloyd stepped forward, nudging past Kai to crouch down at Cole's side. "Um," he said, "my dad…"

Cole turned to him. "What did he do?" he asked, his voice quiet.

Lloyd took a deep breath. "You – you weren't breathing, and he said… he said he could fix things, and… bring you back."

"So I died?" Cole said. "I'm a ghost?

Behind them, Zane cleared his throat. "I'm sorry," he said. "It took me too long to find you, after the mudslide. I'm sorry, I – I – I –"

He continued repeating "I" as his voicebox glitched. Jay yelped and managed to catch him as he fell over. "He'll be fine!" he said quickly. "Um, I can do the repairs, I think! Or his dad? I don't really know –"

"Alright, everyone, clear a path!" Garmadon shouted. "Let me see him!"

Cole got to his feet as Garmadon approached him. "You did this?" he asked.

"Look, kid," Garmadon said, "I wasn't the one who killed you, that was the mudslide's fault." He crossed both sets of arms. "What I tried to do was get your soul back in your body and heal you up a bit so you wouldn't be dead, but it looks like your body was too damaged for my healing abilities to work, so I ended up bringing back your ghost. Assuming you are Cole. Are you Cole?"

Cole quickly nodded. "Excellent," Garmadon said. "Now, obviously we're going to fix this so you're alive and not a ghost anymore, but for now, here are some things you should know." Garmadon tapped his foot. "Rule number one, don't touch water. Water destroys ghosts, so Nya, be careful with your powers. Rule number two –"

Nya burst into tears and moved to hug Cole. She passed right through him and tripped, landing in a heap on the ground. His sister crying was all it took for Kai's tears to start up again, and Lloyd's chest heaved with his own sobs.

Cole watched them and frowned. "It's okay, everyone," he said. "Really. I mean, yeah, this is messed up, but I'm still here, and that's…" He hesitated. "Better than I was."

Lloyd sniffed and wiped his eyes. "How do we bring him back?" he asked Garmadon. "You said we could."

"Right," said Garmadon. "First, we need to make sure his body stays intact, because he needs to go back in that. Not right now!" he snapped when Cole took a step forward. "It'll take more than just possessing a corpse to bring you back to life. Second… wait, did I tell you all the ghost rules?"

"Dad!" Lloyd shouted.

"Right, right." Garmadon frowned and put a hand on his chin. "There's only one person in all of Ninjago who's successfully brought someone back to life," he said, "so we're gonna pay him a visit. But before we do any of that, we're gonna head back to my brother's place, 'cause Kai and Luhloyd still have hypothermia, and Zane needs repairs. Everyone good with that?"

He looked around at the group. Cole took a deep breath. "Okay," he said. "Yeah. Let's go back to Sensei."

"Great!" Garmadon grinned, showing all his teeth. "Now, who wants to carry the body?"

They made Garmadon do it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO welcome back to past time, come back in 2 weeks for chapter the third.

Sensei Wu was took the situation remarkably well. "Cole's a ghost," he repeated, his eyes falling on Cole. "This happened because…"

Lloyd was still shivering, but the warm blanket and hot tea Wu gave him helped. "There was a mudslide," he said. "Zane and Cole were caught in it."

"Jay's repairing Zane," Nya added. "He's going to be fine, he's just… shaken, I guess."

"Understandable," said Wu. "This must be hard on all of you."

Garmadon rolled his eyes. "It's fine," he said. "I mean, it's not fine, this totally blows, but we can fix it."

Wu turned to his brother and narrowed his eyes. "Fix it? What are you thinking, Garmadon?"

"I mean, obviously we're going to Sensei Yang and getting him to help us."

"You will do no such thing."

"Hang on," said Cole. "Who's Sensei Yang? Garmadon said there was someone who had brought someone else back to life – is that him?"

"Yep!" Garmadon said before Wu could answer. "But there's no someone else involved – Yang went and brought back himself!"

"Really?" Kai said, his eyes wide. "So it's really possible?"

Wu cleared his throat. "What Sensei Yang did was specific to him and his knowledge of dark magic," he said. "He's also a dangerous man to deal with. Garmadon, I don't recommend you take the ninja to see him."

Garmadon rolled his eyes. "Sure, we might not be able to do the same thing for Cole that he did for himself, but honestly! Do you have any better ideas?"

"I don't want any of my students to get hurt worse than they are," said Wu.

Lloyd glanced at Cole and saw him mouth Wu's last few words: _worse than they are._ What could be worse than death?

"Alright!" said Garmadon. "So give me an alternative. What would you have us do, wise master? How should we bring Cole back to life, if not by talking to Yang?"

Wu frowned behind his beard and stood up. "Just because I am not aware of other options doesn't mean there aren't any," he said. "We should think carefully about our next steps. Perhaps we could go to the library, do research there."

Garmadon burst out laughing. "The library? You want to sit down and do research? You've got to be kidding! You just want to sit and do nothing, just like the last dead student you –"

With one quick motion, Wu slammed his staff into Garmadon's chest, knocking him back a few steps. Lloyd yelped. Garmadon reeled back, gasping for air.

"Leave Morro out of this," was all Wu said.

"Uh," Cole said.

Wu turned to him. Cole hesitated before speaking. "Do I get a say in this?" he said. "I'm the one who's a ghost. If there's a way to bring me back… I want to do it."

"I know this must be hard on you," Wu said, "but we have to think rationally. Life and death are dangerous forces to play with."

Cole frowned. "I don't want to 'play' with them," he said, "I just want to bring myself back. That's… not playing. If Sensei Yang could do it…"

"The point still stands." Wu sighed. "Cole, it's not a good idea to see Yang. He won't give you what you want."

"But!" Garmadon straighted up. "He'll have me as backup! I'm a powerful user of dark magic, _and_ a ninja master! If Yang tries anything funny, I'll turn his – his _butt_ into a ghost! A ghost butt! How would you use the toilet like that? You can't!"

Cole brightened up. "So we can go see him?"

"No," Wu said. "I won't allow it."

"Oh, come on!" Garmadon said before Cole could react. "You're the one not thinking rationally! It's a perfectly good idea to talk to the only person who's _ever_ been able to bring someone back – do I have to emphasize that? No one else has done it! It's just Yang!"

"Enough, Garmadon!" Wu turned away. "I'm going to see if I have any books that can help us. Students, I suggest you go home to your families. We will meet again in the morning."

Lloyd spoke up. "Uncle Wu, wait!"

Wu was already out the door and didn't respond.

Garmadon snorted. "Don't listen to him," he said to Cole. "In general, but especially now. He's a terrible teacher."

Cole stared down at his hands and said nothing.

Jay burst into the room. "We're here!" he squeaked. "Zane's all fixed!"

"I'm better now," said Zane, rolling in behind Jay. "What's going on?"

* * *

Cole wasn't going back to his home. "I don't want to explain this to them," he said. "Jay, can you tell them I'm at your place?"

"Of course!" Jay said. "I'll tell my ma to –"

"No, I'm not going there, either."

"Huh?"

Cole shook his head. "I'm staying with Kai and Nya tonight," he said. "I don't want anyone else to see me like this. Tell my dad I'm at your place, and then… hopefully he won't call your parents."

Jay nodded. "Alright," he said. "We'll meet in the morning, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

Lloyd didn't want to go home, either, but Garmadon insisted. "Your mom will freak out if you don't come home," he said, "and I don't want to be the one telling her why. I take it we're not telling her Cole's a ghost?"

"Not if Cole doesn't want me to," Lloyd said. "Which he doesn't."

Cole, Kai, and Nya waved at Lloyd, Jay, and Zane as they left. Lloyd managed to summon enough motivation to wave back.

Garmadon dropped Lloyd off at the apartment building. "You'd best go in by yourself," he said. "I don't think your landlord likes me."

"I mean, you've destroyed his properties, like, a hundred times."

"Yeah, that sounds right. See you later, Luhloyd!"

Garmadon drove off in his mech, waving his hand out the window. Lloyd didn't return the gesture.

He had changed into his civilian clothes, but his shoes were still covered in mud. He was starting to feel the weight of everything that happened that day. Lloyd kicked off his shoes outside his apartment and unlocked it, opening the door slowly. "Hey, Mom," he said. "I'm home."

Koko was there to hug him almost instantly. "Welcome home, Lloyd!" she said, releasing him to smile. "You're back late. Is everything alright?"

"Uh," Lloyd squeaked out. "Yeah, everything's… fine."

"You don't sound convincing, dear." Koko's smile faded. "Are you alright?"

Lloyd shrugged. "I mean, the mission didn't go… great, but we're all fine now."

"But it was a close one, wasn't it?" Koko hugged him again. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Really, we're all fine."

"That's not an answer. I worry about you, you know. Now that I know you're the Green Ninja, and you know I'm the Lady Iron Dragon, you would think we could go on missions together, right?"

"That's weird," Lloyd protested. "You're my _mom._ "

"And Garmadon's your father, but you've never complained about him coming with you."

"I do. Constantly. He doesn't care."

Koko let out a quiet laugh. "Well, I'm glad you're alright. If you want to talk about it, just let me know. Do you want your favorite tonight?"

Lloyd squirmed out of her grip. "I'm not really hungry," he said. "I'm just… gonna go to bed early."

"That's not helping me worry less, dear."

"I'm okay, Mom. I promise."

Eventually, Koko relented, and Lloyd went to bed. He lay awake for a long time, staring at the ceiling, wondering what Cole was thinking. Was he scared? Was he sad? Cole wasn't one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, but he couldn't possible keep that calm demeanor after _dying._

He fell asleep.

* * *

His phone woke him up at four in the morning. Lloyd groaned and took it out from under his pillow, squinting at the screen. "Dad?" he mumbled. "What's going on?"

His dad grinned at him on the screen. "We're heading out, that's what!" he whispered directly into the microphone. "Get your stuff together!"

Lloyd grimaced and sat up. "Heading… out?"

"My dumb brother won't take you guys to Yang's place, so we're going in secret!" Garmadon cackled. Lloyd quickly turned the volume on his phone down. "I've already got the Fire, Water, and Earth ninjas – we're just waiting for Ice and Lightning! And you."

"We're just… going?" Lloyd rubbed his eyes. "Where are you?"

"We're meeting at the docks. I'll get a boat to my base, and then we'll head to Yang's place from there. You want to help your friend, don't you?"

Lloyd forced himself to get out of bed. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, of course! Give me a minute, I just woke up."

"Clearly!" Garmadon laughed again. "Don't worry, we'll wait for you. See you soon, Luhloyd!"

He hung up. Lloyd quickly put his ninja uniform on and left through the window. He hesitated after he closed it, waiting to hear his mom stir, but the apartment was silent. Lloyd took a deep breath and kept going.

* * *

Jay and Zane already at the docks with Garmadon, Kai, Nya, and Cole. "Hi, Lloyd," Jay said with a yawn. "Don't worry, we weren't waiting long."

"I was!" Garmadon commented. He had Cole's body with him, Lloyd realized with a jolt, wrapped in a sheet and slung over his shoulder. "Are we ready?"

"Yeah," Lloyd said, tearing his eyes away. "Does Sensei Wu know anything about this?"

Garmadon shrugged. "By the time he finds out, we'll be too far away for him to do anything about it." He gestured to a motorboat with shark teeth painted on it. "Come on! Careful on the boat, Cole – remember the ghost rules?"

"Don't touch water," Cole said.

"That's the most important, yeah. I'll fill you in on the rest later."

One by one, they filed into the boat. Cole hesitated before stepping over the gap between the dock and the boat, and didn't sit down. "You okay, dude?" Kai asked.

"The seat looks wet," he responded. "Is it alright for me to sit?"

"It's not as bad as I'm making it sound," Garmadon said. "I mean, yeah, water'll hurt, but a little on the seat…" He frowned. "It should be fine. Maybe have someone dry it off first."

Kai rubbed the seat with his sleeve and Cole sat down with a wince. "I'm fine," he said before Kai could say anything. "Let's go."

Garmadon started the boat and they set off. Lloyd kept glancing at Cole every time the boat made a splash, but he didn't react. After a particularly large wave, Cole caught Lloyd looking at him and cracked a smile.

"It's alright, dude," he said. "We're gonna fix this."

Nya laughed a little. "I feel like we should be the ones reassuring you," she said. "Are you sure you're doing okay?"

Cole hesitated. "We're gonna fix this," he repeated. "That's what matters. I'm not gonna be like this forever, and then I can go back to being an ordinary kid."

"Ordinary, huh?" Kai said. "We're ninja, remember? That's hardly ordinary!"

"You know what I mean."

Lloyd stood up and went to the front of the boat. "Dad?" he said. "Are you sure we can trust Yang?"

Garmadon snorted. "Don't worry about what my brother said," he said. "Yang's a great guy! I'm sure he'd be down to help us out."

"Are you really sure?"

Garmadon sighed and lowered his voice. "Look, Luhloyd," he said. "This was my fault, and I'm going to fix it. I'm not going to do anything that puts Cole in more danger, alright? I'll get him back to normal. I promise."

Lloyd let himself relax. "Okay," he said. "I trust you."

"Go sit with your friends, Luhloyd. We'll be at the base soon."

He nodded and sat back down next to Jay, who had fallen asleep. Garmadon's volcano base lit up the horizon with a red glow. Cole was silent, and the other ninja had stopped chatting.

He tried not to look at Cole's sheet-wrapped body.

They were going to fix this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooo every two weeks for an update didn't end up working out. oh well! I'll try to get this finished this year, at least. have fun

They didn't spend long at Garmadon's volcano base. Garmadon barked orders at his generals and told the ninja to take whatever weapons they wanted. "Why do we need weapons?" Cole asked. "I thought we were just going to talk."

"It's a bit of a trek to get there," Garmadon said. "Might run into some wild animals or something. Good to be safe, y'know?"

Lloyd picked up a sword and watched Zane fill his quiver with arrows. The rest of the ninja chose their own weapons, Cole picking up a hammer. He then dropped it with a clatter and swore, drawing the attention of his friends.

"You okay?" Jay asked.

"I'm fine, I just –" Cole tried to pick up the hammer again, but his hands passed right through. "– I can't hold it."

"Right," Garmadon said. "Ghost rule number two: you have to really focus to be corporeal. You can do it, it's just harder than it would be normally. I mean, obviouly."

Cole took a deep breath and crouched down, staring at the hammer. He reached out and touched the handle. "I think I've got it," he said. "I think…"

Garmadon rolled his eyes. "Fire Ninja, help him out."

Kai started. "What?"

"Just carry the hammer for him, alright? Even if he somehow masters how to stay corporeal after, what, less than twenty-four hours as a ghost? He won't be able to keep it up the whole way. This'll be way easier."

"I can do it," Cole said. "I just gotta…"

He picked up the hammer and it fell through his hands the next moment. "No one's expecting you to be an expert at this, Earth Ninja," Garmadon said. "And you don't have to be! You'll be back to normal soon, remember?"

Kai glanced at Cole and motioned at the hammer. Cole sighed and stepped back. "He's right," he said. "It's fine."

"Alright," Kai said, and he picked it up with visible difficulty. "Man, this thing is heavy! No wonder you couldn't hold it!"

"Kai."

"Sorry, I'm just saying."

"Got your weapons?" Garmadon said. "Good! Let's head out."

Lloyd waved to the generals, who did not wave back, and they piled back in the same boat they arrived on. "Where does Yang live, anyway?" Nya asked. "Like, obviously not in the city…"

"Yeah, no, he lives way off in the wilderness." Garmadon gestured out at the ocean. "Practically on the other side of Ninjago! We're gonna dock at Stiix."

"Stiix?" Zane tilted his head. "What's that?"

"Used to be a fishing town, but it was abandoned a long time ago. No one lives there anymore." Garmadon pulled back out onto the water. "Yang's place is near it. We can set up camp there and rest before we head through the wilderness."

"Cool," Kai said, and they all fell silent until Lloyd's phone rang.

Jay yelped and nearly fell off his seat. "Lloyd!"

"Sorry!" Lloyd took his phone out and silenced it. "Forgot I had it. It's fine."

Garmadon looked back at him with one eyebrow raised. "Was that your mother?"

"Uh…" Lloyd looked at the screen. "Yeah? She probably, uh…"

"Answer your phone, Luhloyd."

"What?"

"Not sure that's a good idea," Cole said. "I mean, we snuck out for a reason."

"Yeah, but if Koko doesn't hear from Luhloyd, she's gonna go after me next! Just answer it so she knows you're safe."

Lloyd looked at his phone and took a deep breath. "Okay," he said. "Yeah. I'll just say…"

He hit the button to answer. "Hi, Mom," he said, managing to keep his voice steady. "Sorry, I, uh, left without telling you –"

"Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon!"

Lloyd flinched and held the phone away from his ear. " _Mom_ –"

"What do you think you're doing?!" His mom's voice was so loud, Lloyd might as well have put her on speakerphone. "Your uncle just told me everything – where are you?!"

"Sensei Wu told her _everything?_ " Cole said in alarm. "He didn't tell anyone else, did he?"

Lloyd swallowed hard. "Mom, what did Uncle Wu tell you?"

"What happened on your mission yesterday," she said. "Lloyd, I know this must be hard for you, Cole, and all your friends, but you should have told me!"

"Cole didn't want me to get anyone else involved." Lloyd glanced at Cole, who nodded in approval. "Please don't tell his dad, okay?"

His mom lowered her voice. "I know, honey. I didn't tell anyone else, alright? Not any of your friends' parents, despite my better judgement. But you should have told me! I could've helped you!"

"Helped me?"

"I could've come with you, Lloyd!"

Lloyd blinked. "But… Uncle Wu said we shouldn't go at all."

"I'm not your uncle, dear," his mom said. "Whatever you choose to do, I trust you to have good judgement. But that doesn't mean I don't want to be involved. I want to help you and your friends however I can. Where are you going?"

"Dad said we're going to Stiix."

"Don't tell her we're going to Stiix," Garmadon said.

"Stiix? I know where that is. I'll meet you there, okay, honey?"

Lloyd winced. "Mom, you don't have to –"

"You don't have a say in the matter. I promise, I won't tell anyone else, and I won't bring anyone else – but I'm coming with you. Stay safe, Lloyd."

She hung up. Lloyd slowly lowered the phone and looked around at his friends. "Uh," he said, while all of them stared at him, "my mom's coming with us."

Kai, Nya, Jay, and Zane looked at Cole, who shrugged. "Could be worse," he said.

Garmadon groaned. "I thought Koko said we should stay away from each other! Why is she coming along on our top-secret mission?"

"Probably because she's my mom," Lloyd said. "I mean, you've been in the same room together for my birthday and stuff. This is… sort of the same thing, right?"

"Not really," said Cole. "But it's fine, dude. It'll be good to have her help, right?"

"Yeah!" Nya jumped up and stood on top of her seat. "We have the Lady Iron Dragon on our side – there's no way anything can go wrong now! Do you think we'll get to see her take out some bad guys?"

Garmadon rolled his eyes. "You know, I can take out bad guys, too."

Lloyd cracked a smile. "You are a bad guy, Dad."

"Oh, c'mon, Luhloyd! I'm reformed!"

"Are we almost there?" Jay asked. "I, uh, see something out there."

Sure enough, Ninjago's shoreline was visible on the horizon. Garmadon squinted at it. "Yep, we should be approaching soon. Sit tight, kids."

* * *

Stiix had been built over the water, with the majority of the houses standing on docks. Garmadon pulled their boat up close to the shore. "I don't trust some of this stuff to hold our weight," he said. "Be careful getting out. Especially you, Cole."

Cole nodded and stepped off the boat, bouncing up and down on the dock. "Feels stable to me," he said. "Kind of hurts my feet, though."

"Thing's been getting splashed for decades," Garmadon said. "It's probably absorbed sea energy or something. I dunno, maybe it just rained recently. Get to land before your feet dissolve."

Cole flinched and ran to the rocky shore. Kai was next; when he put his foot on the dock, the boards creaked under his weight. He immediately fell back on the boat. "Whoa! That's not stable at all!"

Garmadon groaned. "Ugh, guess we'll have to dock somewhere else."

"Wait, what?" Cole said. "It was fine for me."

"You don't weigh anything, Cole!" Garmadon started the boat again. "I mean, not unless you eat something. That's ghost rule number… four? Whatever."

Cole frowned, watching him drive the boat to the next dock. "I can still eat?"

"Yeah, but it makes you heavier, 'cause your ghost body is taking normal matter – which has weight – and processing it into ectoplasm, which is weightless. It makes you a little more sturdy, and you can turn corporeal a little more easily. You can still be banished with water, though, so don't go eating a bunch of stuff and trying to go swimming." Garmadon pulled the boat right up on the beach. "Alright, kids, help me pull this up."

The ninja helped Garmadon drag the boat onto shore. "Should be safe up here," he said. "Now, let's wait for Koko." 

Lloyd took out his phone and sent a quick text.

hey mom, when are u gonna get here? >

< hi honey! I'll be there in 15 minutes. love you!

He reported the answer to the rest of the group. "Cool," Garmadon said. "Everyone, settle in."

"How do you know so much about ghosts?" Cole asked.

Garmadon winced. "Don't you know?" he said with an awkward laugh. "I used to have an undead army! I mean, there weren't any ghosts, 'cause they're not great for fighting, but you don't get to study the undead without learning about ghosts."

Lloyd frowned and glanced at Cole. His friend met his eyes and nodded. "I'm not buying it," Cole said. "You're hiding something from us."

"Well, yeah," Garmadon said. "And I'm not telling you what it is, so don't bother asking. Unless it's relevant to your situation, you don't get to ask about why I know ghost stuff. You can speculate, though! Maybe I was a ghost!"

"No you weren't," Lloyd said.

"You don't know that! Maybe I left my body or something and roamed Ninjago as a spirit!" Garmadon burst out laughing. "A lot of funky stuff happens when you study the undead!"

"Does it have something to do with Sensei Wu's last student?"

Garmadon stopped laughing, and Lloyd knew he had hit the mark.

"Yeah," Kai said. "We didn't even know he had a student before us. Students? Did he have more than one?"

"Listen, kids," Garmadon said. "There are some things you don't talk about if you want everyone to be happy. Like politics and my brother's dead student. I know you think he's some perfect mentor, but he's made a lot of mistakes, alright? I'm not surprised he doesn't want to talk about them."

"But if it's important –" Cole started.

"If it's important, I'll tell you," Garmadon said. "But it's not."

The ninja didn't press him further, and they waited in awkward silence until Lloyd's mom arrived.

The car pulled up close to the boat and its engine rumbled to a stop. "Hi, Lloyd!" his mom called out. "And Kai, Nya, Jay, Zane… Cole."

"I'm here too," Garmadon commented.

Koko ignored him and got out of the car. "Oh, Cole," she said, "I'm so sorry about what happened. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah," Cole said nonchalantly. "You didn't tell my dad, right?"

Koko frowned, but shook her head. "No, dear, I didn't. Are you sure you don't want to let him know?"

"I'm sure. I'll tell him what happened after it's fixed, alright?" Cole stood up. "We're all here, right? Let's go see Yang."

"I hate to say it," Garmadon said, "but Kokes, you don't look dressed for the occasion. Shouldn't you have come as Lady Iron Dragon?"

Koko looked down at her blouse and jeans, then shot a glare at him. "Those days are behind me, Garmadon. I'm here as myself, nothing more. I'm still plenty capable of holding my own against whatever creatures we encounter."

Garmadon shrugged. "Alright! If you say so. Did you at least bring a weapon?"

"I brought my sword, yes."

"Good enough. Let's go!"

Garmadon marched into the wilderness. After a glance at each other, Koko and the ninja followed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im like 3 chapters behind on my schedule i am SO sorry let's see if I can't wrap this up by the end of the year

Lloyd was pretty sure his dad had exaggerated the dangers they'd face, because they hadn't run into any monsters in the wilderness so far. He picked his way through the brush with his friends and tried not to think about the body Garmadon carried over his shoulder.

"So what's Yang like?" Kai asked. "Like, is he a nice guy?"

"No," said Garmadon. "He's kind of a jerk, actually. Pretty full of himself. Don't get me wrong, he'd love to help us – probably would love to show off, y'know?"

"Like Kai?" Zane asked.

"Hey!" Kai shot a betrayed look at his friend. "I'm not a jerk!"

"But you do love to show off."

"Too bad he doesn't get much of a chance to," Nya commented with a giggle. "Since I'm better than him at everything."

"Okay, why is everyone ganging up on me?"

"And you're sure he'll help us," Cole said. "Like, really sure?"

Garmadon shrugged. "If he doesn't want to, I have ways to convince him."

"Garm!" Koko snapped.

"What? I would do it for Luhloyd's friend, y'know?" Garmadon sighed and adjusted his grip on the body. "Like, really, I don't know if Yang will want to help us, but he's our only shot, so I'm trying to think positive while expecting the worst case scenario."

"What?" said Zane.

"You know what I mean! I'm sure Yang will help us, and if he doesn't, we'll pester him until he does. It's not like he's a bad guy, y'know? Not like I was."

Lloyd glanced at Cole, who looked like he was going to throw up. Could ghosts throw up? Lloyd wondered what ghost rule that was.

"Uh," Jay said, "how much longer is it gonna take? It's getting cold…"

"Is it?" Garmadon said. "I didn't notice."

"The breeze is nipping a bit," Koko said. "It's still technically winter, even though it's been getting warmer. I think Ninjago City is getting snow tomorrow."

The wind rustled the leaves above them. Lloyd shivered. "It's getting cold, yeah," he said.

Garmadon frowned. "Well, here's the plan: we keep walking. You'll be warmer if your body's moving. Yang's place is still a ways away, but –"

A loud roar interrupted him.

The group froze. Lloyd's eyes darted from side to side, but the forest had gone silent, and he couldn't see anything through the trees. Even the birds had stopped chirping.

"I'm going to say it," Garmadon said. "That was a collective hallucination, and we are in no danger whatsoever."

Another roar shook the trees and made them jump. With a jolt, Lloyd realized he saw something moving, a large dark shape some distance away. "What is that?" Kai hissed.

"Whatever it is, it shouldn't be here," Garmadon said. "I mean, do you see that thing? It can't even fit its big dumb body between the trees!"

The thing snarled and moved again. Lloyd saw a tree topple over and crash into another tree, suspended by its branches. It was closer, now, and he could make out a huge mouth and many bared teeth.

"What do we do?" Nya whispered.

"Kids," Koko said, "stay behind us. That's a grundle."

"A what?" Jay squeaked.

Garmadon carefully put down Cole's body and drew his swords, one for each hand. "Big, ugly monster that eats ninjas," he said.

"Very funny, Dad," Lloyd managed to say through his fear.

"No, I'm serious. It's big, it's ugly, and it eats ninjas. It can smell them. It's also supposed to be extinct, so I dunno –"

The grundle roared and charged towards them.

"Climb the trees!" Koko shouted.

Lloyd bolted for the nearest tree. The bark scraped his hands, but he barely felt it as he scaled the trunk as fast as he could. He found a solid branch to stand on and looked around for his friends. There was Zane, Jay, Kai, Nya, and he spotted his mom climbing up to the canopy – but where was Cole?

The grundle crashed into Garmadon, snarling and gnashing its teeth. Garmadon held it away with the swords, cracking a smile. "They're uglier than I remember, huh, Kokes?" he said. "Smellier, too! Koko? Where did you go?"

"Keep it busy!" Koko shouted. "Kids, help me! Grundles hate light!"

She drew her sword and cut through a branch. It took Lloyd a moment to realize what she was doing. "Right!" he said, motioning to his friends and jumping up to a higher branch. "We need to clear the canopy!"

"Question," Kai said. "If I used fire –"

"Nope!" Garmadon ducked under the grundle, slashing at its underbelly and straightening up behind it. The grundle spun around and lunged at him – Garmadon dodged and grabbed a branch, dangling just above its mouth. "Remember, kids, just say no to forest fires! Hey, ugly!"

Garmadon dropped onto the grundle's back. The creature roared and smashed headfirst into the tree Koko was in. She jumped to the next tree just in time, and sunlight poured through the opening in the canopy.

"Cole!" Jay shouted. "What are you doing?!"

Lloyd looked back down and finally saw Cole, crouching next to his body and trying over and over to pick it up. Every time he managed to get it off the ground, it phased through his arms. The grundle roared again and Cole flinched, but didn't run.

"Cole, get out of there!" Nya yelled. "It's not safe!"

"I'm already dead!" Cole yelled back. "I need to make sure it doesn't eat my body, or else I'll be dead forever!"

The grundle bucked Garmadon off his back. Lloyd watched his dad grab a branch and scuttle up the tree. "That's actually a good point," Garmadon said once he was safely out of reach. "I don't think grundles were scavengers, but it's better safe than sorry, y'know?"

"Then why aren't you helping him?!" Koko shouted.

"I am helping! I'm distracting!"

The grundle turned away from Garmadon's tree and sniffed the ground. "Oh, whoops," Garmadon said. "Hey, be distracted by me!"

It ignored him and continued sniffing, moving closer to Cole and his body. Cole managed to grab his body's arm and drag it across the ground for a few steps before losing his grip again. The grundle growled.

"Cole, be careful!" Koko shouted. "Everyone, we need to reach the sunlight!"

Lloyd snapped out of it and swung his sword at the canopy, but the grundle barely noticed the light streaming down. It advanced closer and closer to Cole's body, opening its jaws. Lloyd's eyes widened. Without thinking, he leapt off the branch, raising his sword as he fell down towards the grundle, just as it lunged at Cole.

Koko screamed. "Lloyd!"

Lloyd hit the grundle's back hard. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and he rolled off and landed in the dirt. For a moment, all he could do was lie there, despite every survival instinct he had screaming at him to move. He managed to lift his head up and stare up into the grundle's eyes.

"Oh," he said.

The grundle snorted.

The next moment, he was lifted off the ground and thrown over Garmadon's shoulder. Lloyd yelped. "Dad!"

"Are you crazy, Luhloyd?!" Garmadon shouted. He was already halfway up the nearest tree and still climbing. "This is the second time in as many days I've had to save you from certain death! You better not repeat this tomorrow!"

"But Cole!"

Lloyd wiggled out of Garmadon's grip and fell down to the next branch. The grundle was staring at him from the ground, its eyes wide. At least it wasn't trying to eat Cole's body – but Cole was nowhere to be seen. He scanned the ground, his chest tight with worry. "Did anyone see where Cole went?"

The grundle shook its head up and down. Lloyd stared at it in confusion, then looked up at his friends.

"No!" Kai jumped down and landed next to him on the branch. "He just disappeared! Can ghosts do that?!"

"Yes, actually," Garmadon said. "It's one of the ghost rules. They can turn invisible."

Kai relaxed. "Oh. Okay! I guess there's nothing to worry about, then."

"I dunno," Jay said. "I think I'd worry less if I actually saw him. Cole! Where are you!"

Lloyd caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked to see Zane sliding down his tree and onto the ground. "Zane!" Nya shouted. "What are you doing?! You'll get hurt!"

"Hang on," Garmadon said. "Ninja or not, the grundle won't be able to smell him, and it might not consider him something to eat. Someone's gotta get Cole's body out of there, and he has the best shot at doing it."

Zane crept towards Cole's body, keeping one eye on the grundle. It watched him right back, its mouth slightly open. Just as Zane reached the body, it took a step towards him and he froze.

"I don't like this," Koko said. "Zane, be careful."

"I have to do this," Zane said. "I have to…"

The grundle lowered its head and bumped against him. Jay screamed. "Zane!"

"Get out of there!" Koko shouted. "Garmadon–"

"Wait!" Garmadon held up a hand. "Look!"

Zane stumbled back, but didn't fall over. The grundle snorted and stepped back, giving him some space. Zane looked up at it and raised a hand, placing it on the grundle's snout. It leaned into the touch.

"Uh," Kai said, "is the grundle friendly now?"

The grundle looked up at him and repeated the same up-and-down headshake it did before – _nodding,_ Lloyd realized. "Can it understand us?" he blurted out.

The grundle nodded again.

"Wow!" Garmadon said. "I gotta say, I didn't see this coming. Zane, get Cole's body and get back up here. I'm not taking any chances."

Zane hesitated, but picked up Cole's body and climbed back up the tree. The grundle watched him go.

"Hey," Lloyd said, and the grundle turned to him. He swallowed hard and fought down his anxiety. "Did you, uh, see where Cole went?"

The grundle made a garbled noise and nodded. "Cool," Lloyd said. "Can you point us where?"

The grundle hopped up and down. Lloyd frowned. "That's not, uh…"

Koko crossed over the trees to stand beside Garmadon. "I know about grundles," she said. "Extinct or not, they're not supposed to be able to do this. Garm, what's going on?"

Garmadon furrowed his brow. "I don't know. Uh… hey, grundle, there anything else you can tell us?"

It scratched its foot in the dirt and growled. "I think we can only ask it yes or no questions," Jay said.

"Yeah? I did! Yes, there's something it can tell us, or no, there's–"

The grundle continued scratching in the dirt. Lloyd squinted at it. "It's writing something!" he said. " _See, oh, ell…_ "

Garmadon gasped. "Cole!"

"I think we figured that out," Kai said.

"No! I got it! This isn't a grundle anymore–it's Cole!"

The grundle stopped writing in the middle of the last letter and jumped up and down, nodding furiously.

"Excuse me?" Koko said. "How is that thing Cole?"

Garmadon waved two of his arms in the air. "Ghosts can possess things! People, animals, objects–when the grundle tried to eat his body, Cole must've possessed it to stop it!"

"So what now?" Nya said. "How does he _un_ possess it?"

"First of all, he's not gonna want to right away, 'cause once he does it goes back to trying to eat us." Garmadon laughed. Lloyd didn't see what was so funny. "Second, it's pretty simple, from what I've heard, but I've never been a ghost before, so I'm not speaking from experience. Now that he knows how to do it, he probably undo it, right, Cole?"

The grundle–no, Cole–nodded. Lloyd stared down at him. "Okay," he said. "Okay. So everything's fine?"

Garmadon grinned. "Here's the plan," he said. "Ghost rule number whatever, if you possess a living thing for long enough, you wear it out. Cole, stay in that grundle's body until I tell you to drop it, and then it'll be too tired to go after us again. Got it?"

Cole nodded again. "Great!" Garmadon said. "Now, give me a ride!"

He jumped down onto the grundle's back and was immediately flung off. "Gah!" he yelped. "It must be fighting back! Everyone, run!"

Lloyd cracked a smile and descended from the tree. "Nah," he said, "that's still Cole. Right, buddy?"

Cole made the grundle's body bare its teeth. Lloyd grinned right back.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome… to chapter. have fun!

The plan was for Cole to stay in the grundle's body until they reached the end of the jungle. Then, Cole would put some distance between the grundle and the rest of them, drop the possession, and rejoin the group.

"I dunno," Kai said, "maybe we should keep this body around. What do you think, Cole?"

Cole snorted and shook his head.

"Cole's right," said Zane. "After we bring him back, he won't be a ghost anymore, and he won't be able to possess anything. What would we do with a grundle then?"

"I'm still not sure what a grundle is doing here," Koko said. "They're supposed to be extinct. I haven't seen one in over a decade."

Garmadon cackled. "Sure brings back memories, doesn't it? Not all pleasant ones, either!"

Koko laughed with him. "Definitely not pleasant," she said. "You couldn't fight them, the most you could do was annoy them until they figured you were too much trouble. I've never seen them as angry as that one!"

"Ha! It's probably gonna be angrier after the possession! Man, I wish I could see it! Actually, I could–"

"No way, Garm, you'll get yourself killed!" Koko elbowed him in a manner Lloyd could only describe as playful. "If it weren't so dangerous, I'd want to study it, but zoology isn't my forte."

Jay cleared his throat. "Are we, uh, almost there?"

Garmadon and Koko looked at each other, then turned away. "Should be," said Garmadon. "I mean, I didn't bring a GPS or anything, but everything looks fine so far."

"Are you sure?" Nya said. "I don't think the grundle knocked us off course, but I'm still worried."

"Once we get out of the jungle, we can adjust. Yang's place isn't that far from it, so it won't be too hard to find."

Soon enough, the canopy overhead was starting to thin. When they reached a slow, wide river, Koko stopped and motioned to Cole. "This is a good place for us to part," she said. "Just follow the river deeper into the jungle, and we'll follow it out. One you unpossess the grundle, you can just stay close to the river and you'll find us."

"Just don't fall in," Garmadon added. "That'll make resurrecting you way harder. Probably. Dunno exactly how it works, but it'd suck for you either way."

Cole snorted. Kai laughed. "He'll be fine," he said. "I mean, we've made it this far, right?"

Zane frowned and walked up to Cole, looking up at the grundle's face. After a moment's hesitation, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms as far around the grundle's body he could reach."

"Stay safe," he said.

Cole crouched down and nuzzled Zane's head.

Lloyd glanced at Nya, Kai, and Jay, and all of them stepped forward to join the hug. "Come back to us soon, alright?" Nya said. "I know this thing is like, a dinosaur that wants to eat us, but I'm not as scared of it as I am of losing you."

"Dinosaurs died millions of years ago," Garmadon said. "A grundle is actually–"

"Shut up," Koko said.

Cole shifted, and the ninja let go and backed up. Cole bared his teeth in a smile, then turned around and walked off into the jungle. Lloyd watched him until he disappeared from view, and kept looking in that direction, listening to his footsteps.

Koko put a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go," she said. "We can't risk running into the grundle again. Cole will be fine."

"Will he?" Lloyd said quietly. "I know the grundle can't hurt him, but…" He shook his head. "He's a ghost, Mom. Will we really be able to fix this?"

He didn't want the others to hear, but Kai was the one who answered. "Sure we will," he said, giving Lloyd a hard pat on the back. "We gotta try, anyway."

Lloyd looked back at Garmadon. "But… what if Dad and Uncle tried once already? Mom, do you know what happened to Morro?"

Koko squeezed his shoulder. "Did Garm say something about him?"

"No. I mean, yes, but it was Uncle Wu who said his name."

"Lloyd, what happened to Morro was a tragedy, and yes, your dad and your uncle did try to bring him back, but there were… complications. This is different. Cole won't have to go through the same thing."

"What are you guys talking about?" Garmadon said loudly. "We should get going."

"Right." Koko took her hand away. "Come on, Lloyd."

Lloyd looked back at the jungle before following his mom down the river.

* * *

They followed the river out of the jungle and to an old bridge, its wood rotting and pieces broken off. Kai immediately dared Jay to cross it and earned a scolding from Koko.

"This is a good spot to wait," Garmadon said. "Cole should be back… uh, I dunno, but let's give him an hour before we start to worry."

"I'm worrying now," Jay said.

"Well, cut it out!"

Lloyd sat down next to the river. "Dad," he said, "can you tell me about Morro?"

"No," Garmadon said immediately.

Koko sighed. "We might as well tell him," she said. "Maybe it's not related to Cole right now, but… I feel bad keeping it a secret when he wants to know."

Garmadon rolled his eyes. "It should be Wu who tells him. Morro was his student."

"You know that's not going to happen, Garm."

He turned away. "You do it. You know just as much as I'm willing to tell tehm."

"What?" Koko said in alarm. "But…"

She trailed off. Lloyd noticed his friends had gathered around, staring at her. "If you don't tell us," Kai said, "can we guess? My theory is–"

"No theories," Koko interrupted. "Fine. I'll tell you. You… deserve to know, as Sensei Wu's students, what happened to his first one."

* * *

Wu found Morro outside his home, digging through the trash. He was tiny, clearly malnourished, and Wu couldn't bear to leave him like that. He took Morro in, gave him food and a warm bed, and went around the town asking if anyone had a claim to the child. No one did, so Morro stayed with Wu.

Wu had been toying with the idea of teaching students the ways of spinjitzu for some time now, and Morro was eager to learn. Once he had regained his strength, his training began in earnest. He did everything Wu told him to do, took in every lesson and applied them with astounding results. He was strong, he was determined, he was intelligent, and he looked up to Wu like a father.

One day, during training, Morro was able to manifest his elemental power.

"Wait, what?!" Kai blurted out. "There are other people with elemental powers?"

Koko nodded. "Yes. There are maybe a few dozen? Most have been lost to history. After Morro, Wu tracked down as many people with elemental powers he could, which was how he eventually found you."

"What powers did Morro have?" Lloyd asked.

"Wind," Garmadon said, facing away from the group. "He was the Wind Ninja."

Lloyd nodded. "What happened to him?"

Koko hesitated. "One day… Morro and Wu had an argument."

Wu said Morro thought he was bound for greatness–and surely, a boy that young had great potential, but Morro was pushing himself too hard. When Wu tried to talk sense into him, he claimed his teacher was holding him back, and he left.

It was nearly a decade later when Wu found his body.

"He came to Garmadon and I," Koko said. "The body was… it wasn't pretty. It had been left to rot for months, maybe years. Wu was delirious when he arrived, sick from more than grief, and he had to rest and recover for days before he was lucid enough to speak."

"I thought Garmadon hated Wu," Zane said. "Why did you let him stay?"

Garmadon snorted. "He's still my brother. And, y'know, he was a sobbing, wrecked man with a teenager's dead body. Might've been all the pregnancy hormones Koko was emitting, but I didn't want to send him back out to bury the kid alone."

Lloyd's eyebrows shot up. "You were pregnant?"

Koko sighed. "With you, yes. Honestly, Garmadon was kinder to him than I was. It was late in the pregnancy, and I was having very bad mood swings."

"Is this why you know so much about ghosts?" Kai asked.

"Why Garm does," Koko said. "Wu wanted to bring Morro back, and he knew Garmadon dabbled in necromancy. I told him I wanted nothing to do with it, so Garm and Wu left to try and bring him back. I was alone for… about a week? He didn't want to leave me alone too long in case the baby came early."

"It didn't work," Garmadon said. "Morro stayed dead. That's it! That's the story. I failed to help one of my brother's dead students, and now he doesn't want my help for the second. Can we talk about something else?"

He stomped away and sat down some distance from them, all four of his arms crossed. Lloyd watched him go before lowering his voice. "Is that really it?"

"I'm afraid so," Koko said. "All I can tell you is that Garm and Wu came back to bury the body. Neither of them told me what happened in the week they were gone. Wu left after that, and I only saw him again in Ninjago City."

Lloyd nodded and looked down. "Do you know what he was like?"

"Morro?" Koko shook her head. "Wu always said he was a good kid. Ambitious, willful, stubborn, but a good kid. He rarely spoke of him after I moved to Ninjago City, but one time, he told me he wished you could've met him."

"Oh," Lloyd said. "That's… kind of sad."

Koko hugged him. "It's very sad," she said. "I can't help but think… if Yang can bring Cole back, could he have done the same for Morro, had we known to go to him? Can he bring Cole back at all?"

"He can," Lloyd said immediately. He didn't return the hug. "I mean, I don't know it, but… he has to."

"I hope so," Koko said. "I can only hope."

* * *

Lloyd snapped himself awake. He hadn't noticed himself dozing off by the river, but here he was, lying in the grass, and it was noticeably darker. He sat up and looked around in the fading light, spotting his friends sitting around while his parents talked in low voices. "Guys?" he said. "What's going on?"

"Cole isn't back yet," Nya said.

Lloyd blinked and looked up at the sky, towards the horizon where the sun had already set. "What? But…"

Koko broke off her conversation and looked over her shoulder at him. "You're awake," she said. "Lloyd… we think something happened to Cole."

"Something happened?" His hands were shaking. "Like what?"

"Doesn't matter," Garmadon said. "We don't need his ghost for the resurrection, I'm pretty sure. Just the body will be enough."

Jay squeaked. "We can wait a little longer, right?"

"We've waited for hours!" Kai said. "Now that Lloyd's awake… I think we should go."

Nya nodded. "We'll be able to find out more at Yang's place, and we can resurrect him, and… he'll be fine."

Lloyd looked at Zane, who turned his head away. "We can do something, right? Dad, do you know how to… contact ghosts?"

"I already tried." Garmadon shook his head. "Nothing. That might mean his ghost is still walking around somewhere, but it could also mean something bad happened. If his ghost was still here, why wouldn't he show up?"

Lloyd stood up and raised his voice. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

The other ninja looked at each other, then at Garmadon and Koko. "I'm sorry, dear," Koko said. "You just looked so tired, we didn't want to wake you up and have you worry about something you can't control."

"There is something we can control, though," Garmadon said. "It's getting to Yang's place. Alright, everyone, it's time to move."

Zane spoke up. "Perhaps someone should stay behind," he said. "In case Cole comes back."

"Leave a note if you must, but we're not leaving anyone behind." Garmadon picked up Cole's body and started trudging away from the river.

"Garm!" Koko snapped. "Give us a minute!"

He ignored her and kept going. Lloyd took deep breaths, his hands clenched into fists. He barely noticed when Kai walked up to him and reached a hand out.

"Hey," he said. "Sorry we didn't wake you up. We've gotta get moving."

Lloyd rubbed his eyes. "What if Cole doesn't come back?" he whispered. "What if he's gone for good?"

It was easier to think they could bring Cole back to life when his ghost was right there, walking and talking and being himself, with everything that made him Cole. He wasn't there now, and the only thing that had been Cole was the body Garmadon carried over his shoulder. Lloyd felt tears pricking at his eyes. He turned away.

Kai hugged him. "I know, Lloyd," he said. "But we've gotta keep trying. Do everything we can. Ninja never quit, right?"

Nya and Jay joined the hug. Lloyd heard his mother say, "I'll make sure Garm doesn't go far," and then the only thing he could hear was his own sobbing.


End file.
